According to HSE 10 million working days are lost every year in the UK through stress.As the corporate environment becomes ever more competitive and demanding this puts pressure on line managers and support staff creating a negative workplace situation which could impact badly on your bottom line.HR experts advise that measures must be put in place to support the well-being of both individuals and teams to prevent absenteeism from stress-related illness.If you feel that your workforce needs a bit of a boost, is suffering from low morale or experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety, let Birmingham Hypnotherapy Clinic (BHC) help through a programme of therapies designed to restore the balance in your team’s dynamics.Workshop Your Team Troubles AwayBHC has designed a series of workshops to help staff members cope with their work requirements and their regular, everyday problems. Using a variety of tools and techniques such as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), psychology, mindfulness, hypnosis, and linguistics BHC can help people make positive changes in their lives. While it may not be possible to solve all troubles with one workshop, BHC can develop a series of bespoke sessions to cover the team’s needs more comprehensively.BHC will consult in person with the team leader to devise the right programme for your specific needs. This will be a two way discussion with the opportunity to comment and make suggestions.Because BHC has been able to help a number of different organisations and received positive feedback, it is confident the sessions will prove beneficial, or your money back.

What You Will GainTackling workplace issues through therapy not only produces a happier workforce, it provides a genuine boost to your business in a number of ways:

More motivated staff

Reduced absenteeism

Reduced stress and anxiety levels

Increased concentration and productivity

Reduced staff turnover

Take a step forward in creating a better workplace environment today by contacting Birmingham Hypnotherapy Clinic today on 0121 241 8227.About BHCGeorgios Theodorou moved to the UK, in 2001, and obtained a BEng in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Transport Planning and Engineering from the University of Southampton. He then worked as a transport planner for engineering consultancies in the UK and he was seconded internationally as well as to several local authorities within the UK. This helped Georgios understand the different needs, demands and dynamics of diverse teams. As part of his personal and professional development, in 2008, Georgios was introduced to Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and hypnosis and became fascinated with the power of the mind and how the way we think affects our personal and work life. In January 2011, Georgios set up Birmingham Hypnotherapy Clinic to help people overcome their psychological barriers. Georgios has successfully helped many people with a variety of psychological issues from simple phobias and confidence problems to fear of leaving the house and psychosexual disorders.Georgios believes it is important that he gives back to the community and when possible runs workshops in aid of Birmingham St Marys Hospice with the help of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Georgios is a member of the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and a Member of the Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (APHP).Georgios keeps up to date with the latest cutting edge psychological techniques by attending seminars and workshops as well as reading books and applying the most useful techniques.QualificationsNeuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, May 2008European Engineer (Eur Ing) 2009Certificate of Skills in Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy, June 2010Smoking Cessation Specialist, July 2010Diploma in Hypnotherapy Clinical Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy, January 2011Psychosexual Disorder Specialist, January 2013

I did a double take when I read in the Daily Mail that the well-respected psychologist Oliver James had denounced CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) as scam that didn’t work. Saying CBT or hypnotherapy doesn’t work is not the whole story because we need to examine whether the statement means that the therapy didn’t work or the therapist was unable to help. There are lots of different therapies out there taking similar or different approaches to CBT, but as a therapist I am not concerned with the technique as much as whether the person who has sought my help believes that by talking to me they can get better.

It really is important to find the right person to help you. Did you ever go to a mechanic who couldn’t find out why your car was making that funny noise but then the person who delivered a bunch of flowers gave you answer to the problem? When we have trouble with our minds we might go to the GP but he can’t help with everything. More likely he would refer you to a specialist and then you end up in the hands of a junior doctor. Then you worry he won’t have enough experience and ask to see a senior doctor. But there are good and bad doctors, and it doesn’t mean that nobody can help you just because so far no one has succeeded. But reading further into the Daily Mail article, I realised that the headline had been misleading. It wasn’t saying CBT didn’t work but that it was not a long term solution. I would argue that the journey towards achieving wellbeing of the mind is never likely to be solved in one go. After all if you had work done on your car this year, doesn’t mean to say the same issue might recur or a completely different one arise the following year. The vital thing with therapy is that it has to work for the individual and if it needs occasional tuning up to keep your life on track, that can only be a good thing.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2828509/CBT-scam-waste-money-Popular-talking-therapy-not-long-term-solution-says-leading-psychologist.html

Looking at the news over the last week or so I was struck by the healing power of the mind and the many ways we can tap into this ability. The story about well-known actress spoke out about her struggle with OCD and how she was using hypnotherapy to manage her condition. She was very brave to do this because OCD is a difficult condition and if you are to get to the bottom of it you must go to heart of the matter and confront the issues which trigger the behaviour. This can be painful but hypnotherapy can be quite gentle in tacking the underlying problem which is the anxiety generated by the trauma. When a person is experiencing the urge to repeat certain rituals, they are entering a daydream like state and may be unaware of their actions – repeated hand-washing or pulling out hair. Hypnotherapy has a way of helping the sufferer reach into their unconscious to soothe and minimise the compulsion for damaging behaviours. I was also drawn by the BBC investigation into the sort of music people like to listen to when they are ill to make them feel better. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody was number one and Dancing Queen number two in the feelgood charts. Music has often been used to heal because it stimulates both emotion and memory. It can comfort people suffering from dementia and has been shown to have a transformative effect. Those who create music use the process as a kind of therapy too. A catharsis of the spirit occurs when an artist expresses their trials in life which is then passed on to the listener who uses it to heal their own problems. To understand how hypnotherapy can unleash the hidden power of your mind, put yourself in a receptive state with our ‘Free Relaxation Audio’. Listen to it online today and open yourself to the possibilities.

As part of awareness raising activities to support National Autism Day at Birmingham City University on April 2nd, 2014, students took part in a free workshop to reduce stress and anxiety around exams. Just one session with Georgios Theodorou of Birmingham Hypnotherapy Clinic delivered amazing results with levels of anxiety monitored at the start of the session at around 7-9 out of 10 and a post session reading of between 0-3 out of 10. The aim of the workshop was to give students some techniques for managing their stress levels through a series of relaxation techniques which they could invoke themselves to stay on top of their studies and end of term assessments. Becky Pickering, Student Wellbeing Adviser, Birmingham City University commented: “'The workshop seemed to go really well, the students learned some great techniques for managing stress and everyone seemed to find it very helpful.”

October could mean a whole healthy new you with two initiatives happening at once; One to cease smoking – Stoptober and another to ditch drinking for Macmillan Cancer Support – Go Sober for October. TMA! Too Much Abstaining. So you don’t go crazy, Georgios Theodorou of Birmingham Hypnotherapy Clinic recommends you break one bad habit at a time and the ‘easier’ one is likely to be the drinking.In these high pressure times, more and more people reach for the alcohol for stress relief or a reward for making it through another day at the office. But quite quickly, there is the glass of wine mid-week to celebrate the cat’s birthday and then another one ‘just because’.Habitual drinking like other addictive behaviours has a momentum of its own and the best thing to stop it is to realise what is making you reach for the bottle and making an effort to change the circumstances around that by altering your routine or delaying the instant gratification. If the urge is still there and you want something that is going to relieve the tension try and swap it for something else which does you some good like a herbal tea or even better dig out your old blender and whizz up a smoothie using healthy but tasty ingredients. Forming a good habit is just as easy as forming a bad one. And if you are going to be hooked on something then you might as well get yourself hooked on something that makes you feel good inside and out!If you prefer to do things in stages, consider your choices. Even though there are plenty of drinks to choose from it is usually easier to stick to a favourite. So if you want to stop drinking beer, switch to a non-alcoholic beer then you feel less like you are missing out.

The first port of call for any sports person trying to raise their game would usually be a sports psychologist. But Tom, an American Football player and team captain was looking for a fresh approach. He knew what he needed was to find the motivation to keep on practicing, to be committed to his gym routine plus have more confidence in both himself and his game.

“I chose hypnotherapy because I like to consult a variety of sources to find solutions and I felt it could help me deal with any issues on a more conscious level.

“When I looked into it, I wasn’t necessarily set on it. I was actually quite sceptical that it would work. But I decided it was worth an experiment, even for just the placebo effect.

“What hypnotherapy did for me was to make me more mindful of my own thoughts and give me the opportunity to look at the causes of the separate issues which were holding me back from my training regime.

“Hypnotherapy is a different learning style from sports psychology and allowed me to achieve small goals and make constructive changes in easy stages rather than be completely focused on the end goal.

“While it might be a bit early to say that hypnotherapy has dramatically transformed my life, I know that it has worked at some level and given me the power to think and feel more positively about my sport.

“The sessions start with a consultation to determine what specifically is affecting you, then Georgios will provide techniques to address these problems. This is so important as he gives you the tools to work on yourself which helps you understand how your mind thinks about things you hadn’t normally considered. After this, the therapist will make you feel very relaxed and affirm your goals and techniques with the spoken word.

“My advice is to give hypnotherapy a go, it has made me much more mindful of the things I used to do without thinking about. This has aided me in my goals and motivation.”

Georgios is an experienced hypnotherapist and has produced results often in only one session: “Hypnotherapy can make a breakthrough very quickly because fear is in the mind. It’s not the spider that makes us scared it’s the mere thought of a spider. The fear is there without actually seeing the spider. A person who is scared of spiders has a conversation going in their heads. I am scared of spiders because I can’t stop thinking of this huge spider in my head. This is a sign of they are thinking of a big picture of a spider so that is what needs to be changed.” How do we change that picture? Here is the sequence of questions Georgios will pose: · Think about what you are scared of. If you pay close attention you will notice you have a set image in your head. · Pay attention to where is it in relation to your head. Is it near, is it far, located to the left or right? · Notice the size is it relatively small or large? · In order to change the way you feel you need to reverse it. Usually for most people the picture is near and big so imagine this image shrinking down and move it far away from you. · Check now how different it feels.

To quit smoking it’s better to do it together and with a healthy dash of humour. That is why Birmingham Hypnotherapy Clinic (BHC) is running a free group hypnotherapy session to get people in the right mindset for Stoptober. BHC hypnotherapist Georgios Theodorou is asking businesses with any staff members keen to kick the habit to volunteer for the session and all he asks in return is each attendee contributes the price of a pack of cigarettes to a local charity. He says: “The theory behind Stoptober is that if you give up for 28 days it gives your body chemistry the chance to return to normal which eradicates the craving and reduces the compulsion from the habit. “To prepare for Stoptober, hypnotherapy can give you the belief and the motivation you need to go cold turkey, using relaxation and distraction techniques; and it always helps if you can have a laugh along the way. Being able to laugh at your problem, makes it harder to take seriously and easier to conquer.” To apply for your free group session, contact Georgios Theodorou on 0121 241 8227.